JR's Blog

I'm from a big family and I remember having a moment like this at about the same age. I was just 'done.' My mom joked that I should pack my things and I did exactly that. I didn't move that day, it doesn't look like Saige is either. She explains to her mom why she's "moving on"

Love Duck Dynasty and hate when you can't watch it? Then you're in luck on May 14th!

Here's a complete list of everything that's arriving and departing from Netflix in May...

Arrivals

May 1Beyond Clueless
Jimi: All Is by My Side
The Last Waltz
Legally BlondeLegally Blonde 2: Red, White & BlondeLongmire: Season 3
No No: A DockumentaryThe Prize Winner of Defiance, OhioShameless: Series 10UnderclassmanWitnesses: Season 1

Departures

May 16 Bullets
12 Dogs of Christmas: Great Puppy Rescue
A Knight's Tale
Airplane!
Airplane II: The Sequel
All I Want for Christmas
Along Came Polly
An American Haunting
Baby Genius: The Four Seasons
Baby Genius: Underwater Adventures
BASEketball
Bitter Moon
Boys Don't Cry
Bratz: Babyz: The Movie
Call Me Claus
Call Me Crazy: A Five Film
Cecil B. Demented
Deuces Wild
Devine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood
Fantastic Voyage
Finding Forrester
Friday the 13th: Part 7: The New Blood
Funny Face
Ichi the Killer
Into the Blue 2: The Reef
Life is Beautiful
RoboCop
Romancing the Stone
Sabrina (1954)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze
The Accused
The Brother's Bloom
The Jewel of the NileThe Secret of NIMNTrue Justice: Season 1Valkyrie

May 2Flight

May 3The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement

May 5Diana Vreeland The Eye Has to Travel
Frank Skinner Stand-Up: Live from Birmingham's National Indoor Arena
Grumpy Old Women Live
Russell Kane: Smokescreens & Castles Live

Discovery News partnered with Randy Olson, a doctoral candidate at Michigan State University, to plan the perfect American road trip.

Get your friends and buddies together. This route takes you across the US and lets you stop at all landmarks in each and every state. Yes, all 48 continental ones.

With the help of a sophisticated algorithm, this road trip allows you to start in any state. Just hop on at the point that runs through your state and keep going until you’re back at your starting point!

Here is the list of the landmarks you’d stop at in each state on this road trip:

There's a lot to be happy about and a lot to be bummed about in the coming month. On the one hand, we'll see flowers and buds on the trees, but on the other hand, no more winging snowballs at the back of your neighbor's head and then ducking behind the bushes.

Also on the plus side for April: Netflix subscribers are gaining Marvel's much-anticipated Daredevil series and the absolutely fantastic horror film The Babadook. However, everything good comes with something not so good, and it's my sad duty to inform you that you're also getting Leprechaun 6: Back 2 tha Hood as well as the final season of Sons of Anarchy. I'm very sorry.

God's Not Dead arrives in your living rooms this month. As well, this should prove to be a great month for lovers of comedy, with both Aziz Ansari's new stand-up special and the Tina Fey-Ellie Kemper original series The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt debuting on the Netflix on March 6. Also, there's the first season of Garfunkel and Oates, the fifth season of Archer.

This recipe for Peanutty Pie Crust Clusters was the winner of the 47th Pillsbury Bake-Off and it's valued by Pillsbury at $1 million. Its ingredients include refrigerated pie crust, vegetable shortening, peanut butter and some salted cocktail peanuts.

Here's the complete recipe for you to try for the holidays. See if it tastes like a million bucks...

This should go Viral. If fake stories can go viral scaring people. Then let the truth speak louder. Share this with your well meaning Grandparents, parents, and friends who seem to get their news through Facebook.

I love jokes. In fact, if you were to ask the radio station staff, they would say I am the most likely to laugh at my own jokes. I love a lot of forms of humor, including Satire. The Onion is great at satire. Satire is a mirror to hold up to society. So when I see things like this, I get mad.

This isn’t satire, even though it and websites like it claim to be. This is fear mongering click bait. The “National Report” gets paid every time someone clicks on a link. Because it’s ads are seen, they can show their click numbers to ad agencies and get ad buys. That’s why this is bad. Because they are willing to say whatever they have to, just to get you to click through.

This isn’t about Ebola. This is bigger than Ebola. This is about scaring people. This is why my mother calls me to tell me she’s worried because I live in Texas, so close to the ‘Outbreak.’

So, I’m going to throw on my reporter hat for a moment, and dig in to this. Who are these people that are clearly profiting off of the fear mongering? The “reporter” Jane M. Agni has her bio at the bottom of each of her “reports.”

Wow, impressive. That seems like a fall though. To go from Oprah’s Book Club to an online newspaper. Next, I Googled her name. I’m an awesome reporter I know. It turns out, I wasn’t the only person to search for her.

I found that on the first page of Google results. Pretty close to the top. It would seem that an Oprah Book Club recommended Best Selling Author would be a little higher on that list.

Every time someone shares something that is clearly stupid and just not true and I see it, I will politely share a link to the Snopes article that completely destroys it.

So here’s the deal. If you want to know the news. Don’t go to Facebook. If you learn of a story on Facebook, search for it to see if ANYONE else is reporting that. Stop clicking on click bait and helping to pay people to frighten your already worried parents. And if you see someone posting this click bait, do them a favor and show them how to Google something.

And it's going to be all over your facebook page.
Someone, anyone, please make it stop.

From the New York Times:
"

LOS ANGELES — Two years after Lions Gate released the fifth and supposedly final installment of its “Twilight” movie series, the studio has devised an unusual franchise-rekindling effort — and it may hold clues about Facebook’s future in Hollywood.

Lions Gate and Stephenie Meyer, the creator of the vampires-and-werewolves “Twilight” saga, on Tuesday announced plans to select five aspiring female directors to make short films based on “Twilight” characters. The mini-movies, financed by Lions Gate and its production partners, will be shown exclusively on Facebook next year.

“We think Facebook is a great way for us to introduce the world of ‘Twilight’ to a whole new audience while re-energizing existing fans,” Michael Burns, Lions Gate’s vice chairman, said in an interview."

Amarillo, TX - A bug that transmits a deadly parasite is making its way across Texas, and researchers at Texas A&M University are asking for help to track it.

The insect known as the 'kissing bug' is normally found in Mexico and other parts of Central America, but their presence in Texas is becoming more prominent. That is why scientists are asking citizens across the state to keep an eye out for them.

The kissing bug is a nasty looking insect and it can give the kiss of death in bite form to humans, dogs and other mammals. "It can be fatal," said Dr. Martin Pearson, a veterinarian at Noah's Ark Pet Hospital. "It almost always is."

If you don't know, I LOVE live music. I'm out at shows all the time. And Of course I do the Borderline Podcast highlighting artists. (Shamless Self Promotion). I came across this story out of Minneapolis.

It all started when eight-year-old Dylan Spoering put a sign on his front lawn promoting his free piano concert on 12 July 2014.Neighbor and fellow musician Thomas Rehbein noticed Dylan’s sign and posted it to Facebook saying:

“I have no idea who Dylan Spoering is, but he made this sign and put it out in his front yard, which I saw while biking home. Wouldn’t it be cool if a bunch of people showed up for his free concert?

The Facebook event took off and word of the concert spread quickly. Despite the rain, hundreds showed up to provide their support.

Dylan did his part, playing several pieces from his elementary music books. The 10-minute concert was even broadcast live on USTREAM where it has been viewed over 28,000 times! You can see the full stream here. At the end of the performance Dylan got an amazing ovation from the crowd. Check it out below.

This is Helene Meldahl. And well, let's just face it. She's better at selfies that we are. If you want to challenge her for that title, you're going to have to be VERY creative. Here are some of our favorites.

From his website..."I’m sorry but it’s going to be a few more weeks before we get rocking in America again. I’m feeling great but taking my docs' advice to take it easy for just a few more days. Look forward to seeing you all soon.” — Paul McCartney

I'm a big reader. I love all different kinds of books, and while I haven't made it to '50 Shades Of Grey' I will read just about anything else, including cereal boxes.Seriously, I read so much growing up, that I failed Junior English because I was in the back of the class reading the books to come for Senior year. Lavar Burton's Reading Rainbow was a show I loved watching. The show made me feel good about my big imagination, and I didn't feel like such a nerd about reading so much.

Well Lavar Burton is bringing it back via a Kickstarter Campaign. When you think about all the kids who aren't reading, to me this could be a really important television program for years to come. It's sad that it has to be funded through Kickstarter instead of a network just picking it up, but hey, at least someone is doing something. It shows that people know it's important. Because on day one, they already flew past the $1,000,000 goal.

Full disclosure, I'm not big on sweets. But if there is any kind of sweets I love it's Oreo's and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. I now don't have to worry about buying them seperately and putting them together. Because I DEFINITELY wasn't doing that up until today.

If you’re new to twitter, or still thinking about joining, well, don’t be afraid I’m here to help! One of the most common complaints I get from people when I tell them about twitter, because apparently I’m on the marketing team for them, is I don’t know who I would follow! After realizing I’d already forgotten how I found some of the people I follow, I figured I would come up with a definitive list for people to follow in Lubbock on twitter. First off, I’m obviously not above a little self promotion, so follow me! I do everything from contests to concert announcements to stupid things I think are funny.

New toast: Here's to the women who left, Yeah, that was probably a good call.

They’re funny and they do a good job of throwing in some opinion while still keeping you informed about the Lubbock area music scene. I’m not a weather nerd by any means, but staying informed is part of my job. And whoever it is manning the twitter feed for the National Weather Service for the area does a great job.

With this past weekend's rains, Lubbock AP went from one of the driest on record to 0.39" above average. What a great weekend! #lubwx

I'm pretty sure I'm missing some great accounts to follow here...
Ok, so maybe this wasn’t “definitive” but you can put your twitter handle in the comments here and see if you can get some more followers…
Oh, and don't forget to follow me

Here's the background story: The father of the bride passed away just before the wedding from pancreatic cancer. So the bride's brother recorded one of their father's favorite songs, Butterfly Kisses. It's played while she has her "Father-Daughter" Dance with her grandfather, brothers and father-in-law.

I get to go home and see my folks about once a year. It's a long time in between, but we still have our traditions we hold up. With my mom, we have breakfast on the morning of my drive back to Lubbock. With my dad, well, he tells me the same joke everyday. It varies in phases when it comes to how funny the joke is. The joke?

My dad- "What does an owl use to clean it's nest?"

Me- (sigh) "I don't know dad, what does an owl use to clean it's nest?"
My dad- "A Hooooover"
The joke is usually acompanied by a look like this.

I saw this come across my facebook page last night, and was still thinking about it this morning. Now, just to be clear, I love social media. My facebook, twitter and all the others, but it does make me wonder if it might be healthy to leave it all alone every once in a while. To make myself an "Anti-social Media" day every other week or so. Apparently, according to the video, that's why I'm single. Finally, SOMEONE doesn't have to blame it on me having a cat.

Here's the video that ironically has gone viral because of social media.

I get to go on a lot of tour buses. It's a fun treat that comes with the job. Normally a bus with a bunch of dudes who play music living on it, will smell exactly what you think it would smell like. I have a feeling though, this bus would smell a bit more 'pungent' than any of the ones I've been on.

It's about time for a road trip! I need one I don't know about you. What better place to go when it's warming up than a good old fashioned Texas swimming hole. So turn on your GPS and Let's get going! Here are the ten best via Yes To Texas

1. Balmorhea State Park – Balmorhea, TX

2. Jacob’s Well – Wimberley, TX

3. Hamilton Pool – Dripping Springs, TX

4. Krause Springs – Spicewood, TX

5. Barton Springs – Austin, TX

6. Devil’s Waterhole – West of Burnet, TX

7. Blanco State Park – Blanco, TX

8. Las Moras Pool, Fort Clark Springs – Brackettville, TX

9. Garner State Park – Concan, TX

10. City Tube Chute – New Braunfels, TX

Find out more about each of these amazing swimming holes at Yes To Texas

Like many people, I will talk to my un-named roommate. I call her a roommate, because after several conversations, she has made it clear to me that I live “..WITH HER” not the other way around. In these conversations, sometimes we get to arguing. Or I get to arguing. I’m not sure how this works now exactly.

J.R. here again, with Part Seven of Sky Corbin's account of the years when Waylon Jennings was at KLLL. When I talked with Sky on the phone a couple of years ago, he still seemed sad at this part of the story. Dealing with the loss of a friend like Buddy must have been one thing. Having supposed to have been on that plane like Waylon was, must have been a heavy cross to bear in the years that followed for Waylon. We are nearing the end of Waylon's Tenure at KLLL. Here is Sky with Part Seven-@JRKLLL

After the loss of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J. P. (Big Bopper) Richardson in the tragic Iowa plane crash in the early morning hours of February 3rd, 1959, the booking agency in New York pleaded with Waylon Jennings and Tommy Allsup to continue the tour as "The Crickets". (drummer Charlie Bunch had dropped out earlier after suffering frost-bite on the poorly heated touring bus.) According to Waylon, HE just wanted to go home and "forget it". Not only was he distraught over the loss of Buddy...and tired and cold...but he knew that he and Allsup WERE NOT the Crickets. Jerry Allison and Joe B. Mauldin, two of the original group, owned the name, as per their agreement with Buddy Holly when he left the group. The booking agency, against Buddy's wishes, and without his advance knowledge, had advertised his new act as "Buddy Holly And the Crickets", and it would have been difficult, if not impossible, to change all the advance advertising and already-printed promo material, so, for that tour, it stood. In a scramble to save the remaining dates on the Winter Dance Party tour, auditions were held in the Fargo area (Holly fan and sound-alike Bobby Vee was thus discovered) and several known rock and roll acts were sent by the agency...and, after serving as Pall-bearers at Buddy's funeral, the "real" Crickets, Jerry, Joe B. and new member Sonny Curtis claimed their rights as the real, legal Crickets, finishing the tour, which was fine with Jennings and Allsup. According to Waylon, when it came time for him and Allsup to settle with the agency, the firm wanted to settle with them for only what they had been receiving as backup for Buddy, though using them as headliners.

Waylon was soon back home in Littlefield and unemployed, after just two weeks as a traveling rock and roll musician. At KLLL, Lubbock, we didn't really need another deejay. Waylon had been replaced. But, because he needed the job...because I had started the chain of events that led to his quitting to go on tour with Buddy Holly, and encouraged it...and we'd had a "tacit/maybe" understanding...and because we thought his experiences would make him an even more interesting air-personality...and he was almost family, he was re-hired and squeezed into the schedule, and onto the payroll.

I don't recall Waylon's talking much on the air about Buddy's death...or the tour. If he did, it was minimal..which was fine with me. Using Buddy for KLLL's promotional benefit would not have been the thing to do. Waylon was different, though. He'd been to New York, he'd toured with Buddy Holly and other famous entertainers and now he was back to being just another small-time deejay in an isolated West Texas medium market He was always one to bend the rules, and soon he and I began to have problems, small things such as his reluctance to follow the format..including music programming violations...and talking too much...usually about nothing which made much sense or was of interest. He'd talk himself into a corner, then say, "Oh, well..." and start a record. We were attempting to run a sharp, tight, format like the big-time pop stations, but with country and rockabilly music. Chatting more than l5 or 20 seconds about nothing just didn't get it. More than once, I called him into my office after his show and gave him a "bad review"...but soon we'd adjourn to the coffee shop like pals...maybe even toss around ideas for a song.

Soon after his return, I, while giving him a ride to pick up his car, told him I had a great title for a "Roger Miller type song". (We were very fond of George Jones' s record of Miller's ":Big Harlan Taylor".) My idea was to use the title of an old radio soap opera Called "Young Widow Brown". I suggested we both do some thinking on it and try to write it the next day. The following afternoon, we got together in the production room...he with the guitar, me with pen and paper. The song almost wrote itself as we had a good time and laughed at our own cleverness. The song was my idea and I probably wrote 75% of the lyrics...but the "Salvation Army" rhythm on the chorus and his line "That woman, she's crazy, if she thinks that I'll just keep on a-hangin' around" was 'the hook'...then I believe I suggested....."I'd leave in a minute...except for one thang...that one thang is young widow Brown." Waylon said "That's it! That's it!" And so it went for perhaps 20 minutes and then it was committed to tape and I typed it up. It wasn't Shakespeare or even Irving Berlin, but it was close to Roger Miller, and we thought we had something.

Everyone with interest in music who came near KLLL during the next couple of weeks was almost forced to listen to the song...including the friendly Columbia records rep from Ft. Worth, O. B. (Woody) Woodard. Woody had been in radio, then record distribution, for many years. He knew his stuff, knew some of the people AND had a little "back-pocket" music firm on the side, Heart of the Hills Publishing. He loved the song and asked if he could have the publishing rights. I told him he could, IF he could place it...maybe with George Jones...but Woody didn't get the song to Jones. Starday artist Frankie Miller (no relation to Roger) of Ft. Worth was actually almost as hot at that point in time as Jones. Frankie had hit big with "Blackland Farmer", "Baby Rocked Her Dolly" and one or two others in the previous year or so. He loved our song, Woody said, and wanted to do it for his next record. We would have preferred Jones, but...a bird in the hand...a hot artist...We agreed and signed the contract with Heart of the Hills..

Starday slipped back into it's old ways with Frankie's recording of our "masterpiece"....only fair sound quality, poor arrangement, much too slow. Apparently the producer didn't understand that it was a rowdy, humorous song and had Frankie sing it as though it was a tear-jerker.

The record did make the top 10 on the national charts, but was Frankie's poorest showing of his past 3 or 4 records...several years later, when he and I appeared on a show together at Floydada, not far from Lubbock, Frankie apologized for "ruining yours and Waylon's song." I said, "Maybe We should apologize for ruining your career!" It WAS Waylon Jennings first taste of success in the music business. At about this same time, with his Holly-produced tapes of "Jole Blon" and "When Sin Stops" accepted by Brunswick records (for whom the Crickets had recorded), the company sent a contract, which Waylon signed at my desk with my brother and partner Ray "Slim" Corbin and me leaning over his shoulders as we all posed for the camera. Had Waylon found success in the "music bidness"? Not by a long shot! Waylon faced more "character-shaping" trials and tribulations (many self-induced) on the road to fame..and George Jones (unknowingly) would be a factor in Waylon's being invited to leave KLLL.

Well, we've reached the point in the story we all knew was coming, but it's sad again all the same. Here is Sky, with Part Six, The Day The Music Died-@JRKLLL

At KLLL, Lubbock, to the best of my recollection, we didn't hear directly from Waylon Jennings or Buddy Holly during the month of January, 1959...except for the brief good-byes in my office on January lst as they prepared to leave for "Noo Yawk City". We filled Waylon's deejay slot with Terry Belyeu (pronounced Ballew) my buddy and fellow deejay from early '57 at KLVT, Levelland. It was he who had brought Waylon to my attention almost two years earlier. We missed Waylon, though Terry did a fine job. He'd been working at a Lubbock pop station the previous year or so and was a much smoother, more professional deejay than Waylon...but not as colorful and unpredictable. The weekly 15 minute program broadcast from Morris Fruit and Vegetable Market which Waylon had been doing with "Hi-Pockets" Duncan, and on which Buddy had guested, continued with my brother and partner, Ray "Slim" Corbin doing the singing accompanied by his own rhythm guitar as Waylon had done. "Slim's" music, like Terry's deejaying, was actually technically better than Waylon's.. but maybe not quite as interesting. Waylon said, even after he hit the top, "Slim taught me to sing, man!". That was an exaggeration, but Waylon did manage to sound very much like "Slim" on many of his biggest records, which probably hampered "Slim's" own quest for stardom, as Monument, and then Columbia recording artist Ray Corbin in the late 60's and early 70's. I believe Buddy's Dad, L.O. Holley, who was a frequent coffee or lunch companion, probably gave us a status report on "Our Men in New York".

February 3, l959...THE DAY THE MUSIC DIED....began as just another morning at KLLL. At 11:l5, a record ended and I told my audience something like "Let's go out to Morris Fruit and Vegetable Market, where "Slim" and Hi-Pockets are waiting with a few songs and a lot of exciting news from the wonderful world of fruits and vegetables (and, borrowing a phrase from the Grand Ol' Opry) Let 'er go boys, let 'er go!" "Slim" and his guitar came on strong with one of our home-made jingles, "From th' garden spots around th' world, right into your home...at Morris Fruit and Vegetable, you just can't go wrong...." And he probably followed with his perfect imitation of the famous hillbilly laugh made famous by Ferlin Husky's alter-ego Simon Crum, whom the older fans will remember.) Hi-Pockets came on with his commercial pitch and invitation to the public to "Come on down!" I was now at liberty to leave my chair between the turntables and in front of the mixing console, stretch my legs... maybe go down the hall to the "little boys' room"...check with the secretary/receptionist to see if I had any important phone calls, check the UPI teletype to see if there was any hot news...The first headline I saw as I rolled the newscopy from the machine...ROCK AND ROLL STARS DEAD IN IOWA PLANE CRASH. and my heart pounded and my knees went weak as I read the item. "Buddy Holly and his band died early this morning when their small plane crashed soon after taking off from Clear Lake, Iowa..."

Reluctantly returning to the control room and my microphone, I did my duty. I interrupted the broadcast from Morris Fruit and Vegetable. "Slim...Hi-Pockets...I'm very sorry to break in, but I have something here
that won't wait. Brace yourselves for some sad news." And I read the item just as it had come over the wire. There was a few seconds of silence, and, Hi asked, "Sky, did we lose Buddy AND Waylon?" "Is Waylon's name in the story?", Slim inquired. I said, "No, Waylon's name is not mentioned, but it DOES say "Buddy Holly and his band...so...I would assume Buddy and Waylon are both gone." "Well, we can't continue this program, Sky, so we're coming back to the station", Hi said. Buddy's death had just been announced on the little radio show on which he had sung...for a Coke...just a month or so earlier.And Waylon's demise had just (erroneously) been announced on the same show...on which he'd been a regular for the past few months. But, that's not the end of my part of that unforgettable day.

The phones were "ringing off the wall". Apparently we were the first station to broadcast the tragic news. We may have been the only UPI station in town at that time, and A. P. may not have released it yet. The Secretary commented that we certainly have a lot of listeners...and they were all calling. The local newspaper and several other radio stations called, too. Then, about two hours after I'd broken the news, the secretary/receptionist came to the control room window and motioned for me to pick up the phone.
And she had a big smile on her face...which I thought strange under the circumstances. "Sky, this is Waylon", said the subdued voice on the phone. Being a deejay, I responded with, "Waylon, WHERE are you callin' from?!" "Fargo, North Dakota. We lost Buddy, but I'm okay. The Bopper talked me out of my seat on the plane. He was about sick and was uncomfortable on that cold, crummy bus. I was havin' a good time keepin' warm singin' Hank Williams songs for Dion and the Belmonts...and I'm about half afraid of flyin', so....anyway, Mom heard you read that on the air and thought I was dead until I called Littlefield just a few minutes ago." I was stunned and very embarrassed...and more than a little angry. It is, of course, standard procedure for news of a death to be held until the families have been notified. I assumed this had been done, else it wouldn't have been on the teletype. That was, and is, a responsibility of the authorities. It had been about l0 hours since the crash and several hours since the plane and the bodies had been found. I, of course, apologized and Waylon assured me that his family would understand. We lost no time letting the listeners know that Waylon had NOT been on the fatal flight. I believe I talked to him on the air, but I'm not certain. As most music fans know, Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J. P. (Big Bopper) Richardson and the young Iowa pilot had been the actual victims of the crash. Valens had ended up with the seat originally intended for Buddy's guitar player, Tommy Allsup.

A few minutes later, "Slim" said, "Sky, we ought to go and extend our condolences to the Holleys". I agreed, but I surely did dread it, as did "Slim". To lose a son would be a crushing blow under any circumstances, and the Holleys were very proud and supportive of their famous, talented son and
his music. When we arrived, not surprisingly, there were several cars in the driveway and along the street. Already there were Jerry (J. I.) Allison and Joe B. Mauldin (the Crickets) with whom Buddy had split, but they were still friends; Sonny Curtis, one of Buddy's musician friends, then a new member of the Crickets; the Holley's pastor, Dr. Ben Johnson of the Tabernacle Baptist Church, and a few others. We were greeted warmly. Mrs. Holley (Ella) said something about how helpful it was to have the support of Buddy's friends. Then she turned to me and quietly asked, "Sky, do you know how we heard about Buddy?" Nodding toward Dr. Johnson, I said, "I would assume and hope your Pastor came and told you." But I had a sudden sinking feeling. "We were just about to leave for the grocery store", she said "I was in the car and I told Lawrence that we'd left the radio on. He went back in and had just reached for the off-button when he heard you say you had some bad news. He waited and heard it, and came out to the car and told me." "Oh no!", I said. "I know Waylon's folks got the word from me, but it really never entered my mind that YOU hadn't been notified either! I'm so sorry!" Mr. Holly said, "Oh, that's all right, Sky, don't worry about it." Mrs. Holly said, "We had just as soon hear it from you...one of Buddy's friends...as anyone." It was amazing and a relief to see how composed and in-control they were that afternoon.

Some fans may wonder about my account, since a version attributed to Mrs. Holly has a friend calling to ask her why all the stations were playing Buddy's records and Mrs. Holly's turning on the radio and hearing the tragic news. If Mrs. Holly told the story that way, she must have been relating a dream. I have also been told that a well-known deejay who was in Lubbock then (at another station) cast himself in my role during a broadcast in a different city years later. Fact is, in Lubbock, Texas in 1959, out of respect for Buddy and his family, any station or individual deejay who played even one of Buddy's recordings that day after the news came out would have been accused of bad taste and worse manners. Believe it or not, that's the way it was back then. I'm almost positive none of the Lubbock radio stations were playing Buddy's records that day...not after 11:30!

At KLLL, we held Buddy's records until after the funeral. Then we played them a lot. He'd strongly supported KLLL during the few months we'd been operating the station. We didn't play promotional jingles touting KLLL again for years.

During his last trip home, we'd talked to Buddy about doing a show in Lubbock. He had done none since his ascent to stardom. He didn't believe he could pull an auditorium crowd in his home town. We convinced him that, if he did bomb in his home town, he surely wouldn't be the first. We'd add to the show the other young local talent (Sonny Curtis, Terry Noland, Jimmie Peters and the Four Teens, Niki Sullivan, Hope Griffith, and of course Waylon) who had made records, and we'd have a great time and spotlight the young "stars" whether we had a big crowd or not. "Okay! We'll do it early next summer!", he promised. I've always wondered how the show would have done. The old adage, "A prophet is without honor in his own country" certainly applies to entertainers. Ask almost any of them. You must become a super star before you're a minor star at home, in most cases. Buddy's frequent presence in Lubbock in l958 at the peak of his career caused little or no excitement, no newspaper or TV interviews, and, though his funeral in l959 was well-attended, it was not the huge event one would assume. He was just a "local boy doing pretty good in the music business." I'm certain no fans requested an autograph or approached him during our coffee breaks and lunches at the Top of the Plains Restaurant down the hall from KLLL, or the bowling alley or other places we went. But, come to think of it, I can remember drinking coffee or eating lunch at the restaurant with many celebrities, and very rarely did anyone approach our table or even acknowledge Jimmy Dean, Charley Pride, the Everly Brothers, Bob Wills, Webb Pierce, etc etc. Lubbock was that kinda town...cool,calm and collected and hard to "shake up", though almost everyone in the area loved country and rock-and-roll music. In fact, several top artists FROM OTHER PLACES enjoyed much of their early success in the Lubbock area, but no local talent..

And, being a "local yokel", it would be at least a decade into his major-label career before WAYLON could pull a crowd in Lubbock. More about that later.

-BuddyHolly's funeral was held on February 7, 1959, at the Tabernacle Baptist Church in Lubbock.

I've always thought I was born about twenty years too late. Reading Sky's story the past few days makes me wonder if I should make that 30-40 years late. Making me old enough to appreciate who they were when they were. If you've been keeping up with the story, we are getting closer and closer to the "Day The Music Died," but first, Waylon Jennings and Buddy Holly have to get going out of Lubbock. Here's Sky Corbin with Part Five. -@JRKLLL

The day of Waylon Jennings' first recording session, in September '58 at Norman Petty's studio in Clovis, New Mexico, was historic in more ways than one. Not only was it Buddy Holly's final Clovis session, and the beginning of Waylon's professional recording career, but, coincidentally, later that day, or perhaps that night, Charlie Phillips recorded the first version of his composition, "Sugartime". Charlie's record was a moderate success, but The McGuire Sisters later made the song a classic. "Old-pro" bass player George Atwood performed on Waylon's songs, Phillips' numbers, and two songs which Buddy Holly recorded himself (in addition to producing and playing guitar on Waylon's sides) and, as mentioned earlier, King Curtis, the world's hottest rock and roll sax player was on hand, all the way from NooYawk City!

According to Waylon, Norman was obviously not happy about Buddy getting into producing, and was not helpful or encouraging to Waylon. "I felt like an illegitimate child at a family reunion!" he said. (in those approximate words) Petty's attitude was, to some extent, understandable, He was the one with the money, know-how and reputation invested in the studio, the one who had produced and recorded hits on Buddy Holly and the Crickets after Nashville was unable to do so. In addition to Buddy and the Crickets, The Norman Petty Trio, an easy-listening instrumental act, had recorded some hits of their own, most notably "Almost Paradise" and "Mood Indigo". Things were happening, and now, after only a year or so, his biggest act, Buddy Holly, was producing records himself and planning to open his own studio in
Lubbock, drawing basically from the same pool of West Texas and eastern New Mexico talent. (Buddy's next session would be in New York with Dick Jacobs producing and leading the orchestra).

When Buddy played the demo tape of Waylon's "Jole Blon" and the "flip" side, a thing called "When Sin Stops" (Love Begins") for us at KLLL, my brother "Slim" and I were not impressed, thrilled or optimistic. Producing a hit record is not as easy as the layman might assume. A talented artist recording a fine song can come up with a bomb...or a poor-to-mediocre artist singing garbage can come up with a smash. (Haven't we all heard plenty of those?!) Recording, in 1958, was still mostly one-track. The countless re-dubs and re-mixes done today were not practical...or even possible. When we had heard the tapes, all we could say was something like "Well, it's different. The radio stations and the public will have the say-so when it's released." Actually, Buddy's own performances during this record session also failed to produce anything notable. As we "cowboys" say, "Some days it just don't pay to saddle up!"

One morning during this period, the last weeks of '58, Buddy accompanied Waylon and fellow deejay Hi-Pockets Duncan to Morris Fruit and Vegetable Market, a modest grocery store in east Lubbock. Hi and Waylon made the visit every Tuesday morning to tell the radio audience about the current food specials. Hi emceed and did the advertising while Waylon, accompanied only by his own acoustic guitar, would sing a couple of songs...or more if time permitted on the 15 minute program. On this "momentous occasion", Buddy Holly, internationally known recording star, sang a song and harmonized with Waylon on the bluegrass favorite "Salty Dog Blues" When the program was over, Morris shook Buddy's hand and thanked him for coming out. Hi said, "Morris, Buddy gets at least a thousand bucks anytime he sings even one song. I suppose you'd take a check, wouldn't you, Buddy?" According to Hi, Morris turned pale, then red, and sputtered, "My God, Hi-Pockets, you should have checked with me first! You know I can't afford a lick like that!" Fortunately, the ensuing laughter made Morris realize he'd "been had"...though not financially. Buddy settled for a soda pop.

Waylon continued to deejay at KLLL while waiting for his job with Buddy to begin. Trying desperately to learn to play the new electric bass Buddy had presented him with, Waylon discovered that the four strings on a bass were the same as the strings on a guitar, and he was making some progress. Buddy and his wife, Maria Elena, were spending the holidays in Lubbock with Buddy's family. One morning (while I was doing my deejay show) Buddy, Waylon and Slim were in the production room nearby. Buddy was demonstrating some excellent new songs he had just written, or was still working on. "Help me with this one," he said. and began strumming and singing, "You're the one...and I wantcha to know..." Between the three of them, they rapidly knocked off a pretty nice little song, putting it on tape with Waylon and Slim accompanying Buddy and the guitar with some rather ragged goof-off hand-clapping for extra rhythm. After one quick run-through so they could remember the song. Buddy laid down the guitar and the three left for the coffee shop down the hall. Somehow the tape wound up in my desk for safekeeping, and was almost forgotten, even by me, until Buddy's Dad asked me about two years later if there was anything at the station that Buddy had recorded. I'm glad I saved that tape "for sentimental reasons."

Unfortunately, another tape made that month disappeared. It featured Buddy, Waylon, Sonny Curtis and Ray "Slim" Corbin having a great time singing harmony, and, as I recall, each taking a solo on "Salty Dog Blues"...a favorite of the young Lubbock musicians at the time. That would be something to hear now 44 years later! (Only Sonny survives of that fearsome foursome.)

On New Years Day, I was doing some paperwork in my office. The station was deserted except for me and the deejay who was on the air. Buddy and Waylon came in. Waylon wanted to pick up his guitar and a few other personal effects. He, presumably, had wound up his deejay days at KLLL, though there was a tacit understanding that he might be rehired if the music thing didn't work out...or he might do some fill-in when he wasn't on tour. On the way out, they came to my office door. (And I remember as if it were last month) "Well, 'Sky', we're off!", Buddy said, with a wave. I responded with my usual "brilliant wit", "Of course you're OFF! You're musicians, aren't you?" Buddy said, "You've got a point there!" I told Buddy, "Take care of our boy." Buddy's response (ironically) was, "Hunh! HE may have to take care of ME! See you about the middle of February. We gotta go make some money!"
That was the last time I'd see Buddy, but certainly not Waylon. HE'D be back...

Kliff Kingsbury is open to the idea of being on the Bachelor, but only if the house is in Lubbock. In unrelated news, I just want to live at the end of the driveway so I have a shot with the ladies who don't get a rose.-@JRKLLL

Putting these chapters together the past few days has been really interesting. Interesting enough that last night I visited the NTS East tower, formerly the Great Plains tower where KLLL was on the top floor back when Waylon worked here. I had never visited the building before, i made sure I stepped outside the entrance and just stood for a minute. The idea that Waylon Jennings, AND Buddy Holly had passed through these doors right where I was standing was fascinating. I truly love history, and finding history so close to home that had such a huge impact on the world and myself was too tempting to pass up. I also looked up and saw the twist in the tower. As The tower itself is the only known building to survive a direct hit by and F-5 tornado. Here's Sky Corbin with Part Four of the Waylon Jennings years at KLLL- @JRKLLL

Lubbock, 1958

Buddy Holly seemed a little uncomfortable that day in the Fall of 1958 when he appeared in my office door and said he wanted to talk with me about Waylon.

He believed in Waylon's talent and potential, and believed he COULD look "good". He was certainly more handsome than Buddy (or me)! But, as Buddy said, "He just doesn't dress well...or get his hair cut right." I had to agree. I was no fashion-conscious "Adolph Menjou" myself, but all of us at KLLL felt a little embarrassed at times by Waylon's appearance..and his sometimes wearing the same shirt all week. As I explained to Buddy, this was because he didn't make a lot of money, and he and his wife, Maxine, didn't know how to handle what he DID make. He'd get paid on Friday, they'd enjoy a big weekend, and he was broke and bumming cigarettes on Monday. Buddy explained something I already knew....that a professional entertainer had to look like "SOMEBODY". Image was half the battle. By the summer of '58 when I first met him, Buddy dressed like a well-to-do college boy or young executive, and had a flattering hair cut, and those famous heavy, black horn-rimmed glasses. I remember telling others that you could see Buddy a block away and know he was "somebody". "Don and Phil (Everly) showed me and Jerry and Joe B. (the Crickets) how to dress," Buddy told me. (The necessity of a neat, well-groomed appearance in the rock and roll arena would become optional a couple of years hence when the Rolling Stones and
other "scroungy" rock and rollers would came along and rock-and roll wood become ROCK! and looking unkempt and "wiped-out" would be "in".)

Buddy had split with Jerry Allison and Joe B. Mauldin (the Crickets) and was forming a new band. Allison and Mauldin were to retain the Crickets name and find a new lead vocalist and guitarist. Buddy had contracted for a mid-January to mid-February tour through the Midwest and wanted to take Waylon along as his bass player and back-up singer...if he could be "shaped up a little". I said, "Well, Buddy, you'll just have to sit him down and explain all this to him...and, I suppose, spring for a wardrobe and take him to a good barber. I'm sure he doesn't have the money". "I don't want to hurt his feelings," Buddy said. "Just talk to him in a nice...but business-like way", I advised. "He respects you, and has his hopes up.
He'll be all right with it. You're gonna be his boss and mentor after all! And you ARE Buddy Holly!". Buddy grinned and said, "Well, we'll give it a whirl! Can I have him when he gets off the air at 3:00?" I readily agreed.

It must have been about two hours later when Buddy appeared in my office door again with a big grin on his face. He said, "Sky, are you ready?" "Ready for what?", I asked. Buddy said, "Tah-dah!!!!", stepped aside with a flourish and there stood....was THAT Waylon??? He looked like Waylon's rich city cousin (if he'd had one). A razor-cut haircut that looked plumb Hollywood, a fine-looking sports jacket, spiffy slacks, shiny new stylish shoes..he was strutting like a game rooster. He looked like "Somebody"! "Have you ever been out to Brown's Varsity Shop across the street from Texas Tech?," Waylon asked me. "Man, I didn't know that was Johnny Mack Brown's brother's store! Damn if he don't look and talk just like him!" The Johnny Mack Brown he referred to was the cowboy movie star (and All-American Alabama football hero back in the '20's)...and his brother, known around town as "Coach" Brown was indeed the proprietor of the upscale men's store which catered to the college crowd...especially the athletes...and he often did some "coaching" while he was "decorating" the Red Raiders football team in their "off-duty" attire..
Buddy had decided to produce a record session on Waylon at Norman Petty's Studio in Clovis, New Mexico. He would also cut a couple of sides on himself...and he wanted the famed "Yakety-Sax" man, King Curtis playing saxophone. Curtis, a black rock and roll musician from "back east" accepted the gig'' and caught a commercial flight to Lubbock where he, Buddy and Waylon climbed into a small private plane with a hired pilot (or perhaps Buddy"s pilot brother, Larry) and flew to Clovis. Buddy, a life-long country music fan, wanted Waylon to record the old Cajun country classic "Jole Blon" with Curtis's funky sax substituted for the Cajun fiddle.

(Next time---more on the Clovis session---Waylon and Buddy's departure for
New York...and tragedy)

J.R. here again with Chapter Three from Sky Corbin's remembrance of KLLL around the time when Waylon Jennings worked here. These call letters are important to those of us who work here now. I've been in more than a few conversations around our offices (now at approximately 58th and Avenue Q) about the signifigance of the letters KLLL in this community, and beyond. I promise, we don't take it lightly. In the late eighties/early nineties, station consultants from around the country would come and see what KLLL was doing in an attempt to replicate it elsewhere. It became known as the "Young Country" format, all born right here in Lubbock.

On that July, l958 morning at KLLL, Lubbock, Buddy Holly and I had discussed Waylon and his potential as a recording artist no more than 5 or l0 minutes when "Hi-Pockets" Duncan, our "old-pro" Sales Manager/deejay arrived for work. Learning that Buddy Holly was present, "Hi" wasted no time coming to the control room. He was well acquainted with Buddy, having worked at KDAV earlier when Buddy and other local talent had performed on their live shows. (In fact, "Hi" had been a factor in Buddy's getting his first record contract, which led to a Nashville session, which produced a flop album and a couple of singles for Decca. Hi had gotten Marty Robbins and HIS manager interested in helping Buddy, which resulted in the Decca contract.) Soon "Hi" invited Buddy down the hall to the "Top of the Plains" restaurant for coffee. There Buddy brought up the subject of Waylon, and "Hi" seconded my opinion of his talent and potential.

When Waylon arrived soon thereafter, he joined Buddy, Hi and my brother and partner "Slim" in the coffee shop. Waylon and Buddy soon came back down the hall to KLLL, closed the doors to the production/recording room, picked up the always-present guitar and "made some music" for each other. Buddy apparently was impressed and became Waylon's mentor on the spot, telling him about his plans to form his own record label and put in a recording studio at Lubbock.

Buddy knew Lubbock and the surrounding area was a hot-bed of talent. In addition to Buddy Holly and the Crickets, there was Sonny Curtis, singer/guitarist/songwriter who had been a member of Buddy's pre-Crickets band, was now recording for Dot Records (without success) but who would become a Cricket after Buddy's death, eventually record for Coral, Viva, Capitol and Elektra...and write some very big songs, mostly in the pop field, such as "Walk Right Back" for the Everly Brothers (and, later, Anne Murray), "More Than I Can Say" for Leo Sayers, "Love Is All Around"( theme for the Mary Tyler Moore Show), "Stranger To The Rain" for Keith Whitley...There was Terry Noland, Brunswick recording artist, who had enjoyed slight chart success, and had been on the Dick Clark TV Show, Alan Freed's big rock 'n roll concerts, and other brushes with the "big-time", there was a rockabilly group called "The Four Teens" who had a near-miss on Challenge Records (lead singer Jimmy Peters would later record for Banner,
Columbia, Decca and other labels as a country artist, with several near-misses) my brother "Slim", who would, a decade later, (as RAY Corbin) record for Monument, then Columbia before his untimely death at Phoenix in l97l. A local Top 40 deejay, Don Bowman, who would soon join us at country KLLL, (where I taught him his first guitar chords) in the late 60's, become an RCA records country comic and a songwriter, have a fairly successful career..(and help Waylon get an A & M, then eventually get signed by RCA.) The list goes on and on...

(Billy Walker from Ralls,

Jimmy Dean from Plainview,

Don Williams from Floydada,

Tanya Tucker from Seminole,

all made it big, but had little or no relationship with the Lubbock music scene.)

The area's production of "stars" must have been the result of something in the west Texas water...or the motivation to "get out of the cotton-patch", as Waylon would say in later years. Buddy Holly was an exception. He believed Lubbock could be a major music industry location, using mostly area talent, and HE liked his home town.

In retrospect, since Buddy was"in love", and about to be married, in just weeks, to Maria Elena Santiago, a New York music publishing company receptionist, his passion and planning for the music business at that particular time seems to hint...again...that he somehow felt he had no time to waste. He did "waste" quite a bit of time at KLLL though, before and after his August l5th wedding, making frequent trips back to Lubbock after he and his bride set up housekeeping in Greenwich Village, NYC. . We...Waylon, Buddy, "Slim" and I..drank coffee together frequently, went bowling at least once or twice during that summer, and Buddy told us "insider" show-biz stories about people he'd worked with, including some of the wildest, nuttiest characters who ever drew breath, Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis...and country's George Jones. Waylon was enthralled, and obviously anticipating his "shot" at it. Buddy, while still enthused about
Waylon's prospects, was beginning to have some apprehensions...or at least, to see some problems.

When I was looking at different radio stations around the country as an out of work DJ in San Angelo, I came across KLLL. And was immediately fascinated by the history in these letters. I'm proud to say that Waylon is one of the reasons I accepted the afternoon position at KLLL. In this chapter, you'll find out how forward thinking the radio station was, even back in the late 50's.
Here is Sky Corbin, Former Program Director of KLLL with Part Two- @JRKLLL

In the (last chapter), I wrote about Waylon Jennings as a young deejay in l957 at KVOW, Littlefield then KLVT, Levelland (both Texas) and my hiring him to join me and my brother Ray "Slim" Corbin, at KLLL, Lubbock, Texas, which we were buying, with our Dad, H. E. Corbin--- .

FCC approval came in April, '58, and we took over at KLLL May lst. "Slim" had been a deejay for about 6 years at stations in West Texas, and at KHOB, Hobbs, N. Mex. and his experience and ability far outshined either mine or Waylon's. Like me, he was impressed with Waylon's singing and guitar
playing, and less with his deejay work. Waylon didn't read very well and was less than smooth with his "production" or "boardwork", despite having been at it off and on for about 5 years. He sounded particularly tense and rough his first weeks at KLLL, intimidated by working in a much bigger town--with competition. "Slim" and he, and Dad and he, hit it off, though, and were instant friends. Waylon had gotten to the point at Levelland that he wound up with no transporation. His old car had coughed it's last.
Still living in Levelland, with his job 30 miles away, he had a problem. "Slim" and I had both moved to Lubbock, but Dad had not. Having retired from farming, he had time on his hands, and was interested in his investment, so he agreed to bring Waylon to work temporarily. He served as Waylon's "chauffeur" until Waylon moved to Lubbock a few weeks later, then went with him to see a banker about a car loan. Suddenly Waylon was cruising in a long, shiny, but "used-up" DeSoto convertible. It was fun while it lasted. Something less showy and more reliable would have been wiser. He was soon "afoot" again a good deal of the time, and this time, I gave him a ride home or took him to the shop to pick up his car on occasion.

Meanwhile, back at the station---Waylon's deejaying was working pretty well for us. We ran a mostly country format, but with a "Top 40" influence...lots of Country-Pop, Rockabilly and Folk and not much hard country---except for artists like George Jones and Ray Price, who though quite country, were hot. We called ourselves "The Modern Country Sound" and emphasized the difference between us and the old-line country station, KDAV, which had, about 3 years earlier, gone on the air billed as the world's very first all-country station, though they had a gospel show and an after-school rock and roll show. Mostly they played a lot of Roy Acuff, Kitty Wells and bluegrass, which, at that time, the Elvis-era, left the younger folks cold. We played Marty Robbins, Jim Reeves, Elvis, Don Gibson, Johnny Cash, the Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis, Brenda Lee, the Kingston Trio.... and our presentation was personality all the way. (Going too far on occasion!) KDAV also ran too many commercials. (while our bank account showed we didn't run nearly enough!) "Slim" was a far better musician than Waylon or I, and a real expert at producing commercials and jingles. He could play guitar and sing a jingle, then over-dub vocal harmony and instrumentation VERY well, and we did a lot of jingles for the station and for advertisers. While "Slim" did most of them, Waylon did quite a few, usually imitating Johnny Cash, and I was vocalist and the writer on some. It all made for a very colorful, entertaining radio station.

Waylon's laid-back attitude, mistakes, and general goofing-off went over well with the young folks, especially the teen-age girls, who obviously heard that certain something I had recognized in his voice, and we often had a studio audience.

The Great Plains Building-The NTS East Building Today

We were located on the 20th (top) floor of the Great Plains Building, the tallest in town, with a restaurant down the hall, so we were easy to find. We must have seemed a lot like an early version of the Beverly Hillbillies come-to-town to the bankers, lawyers and accountants in the building, but the local girls liked all the deejays and many came to "see what those crazy guys look like!") We were all "married, with children", and some of us took that seriously. Some of us didn't. We also had two older deejays, "Hi-Pockets" Duncan, and "Mr. Sunshine", both 50-ish. Some of the young ladies were so deejay "star-struck" they even made eyes at THEM. I, as manager, finally had to invoke a "watch the
deejay 5 minutes, then please leave" policy. (Meanwhile, the Lubbock radio "industry insiders" were making bets we wouldn't last a year. They just didn't understand that radio was "show-biz"!)

4th of July weekend---I was standing on Broadway in downtown Lubbock, listening to Waylon sing with a local band on a temporary bandstand in the middle of the street. We were participating in a Lubbock Downtown Merchant's Association promotion. A middle-aged gent with a friendly smile approached me with a 45 rpm record in his hand. He introduced himself as "L. O. Holley, Buddy Holly's dad", and handed me a copy of Buddy's new record. I told him we'd be glad to spin it. We listened to Waylon finish his song. Mr. Holley asked me who that was, and I told him it was Waylon Jennings, one of our deejays, He said he'd been listening to us a lot and enjoyed our programs. I said, "You know, Mr. Holly, if Buddy would be interested in helping another West Texas boy make it, Waylon is the one I'd recommend." He told me that Buddy was, in fact, planning to begin producing other artists, and wanted to start his own record company. He told me that Buddy and the Crickets were in England but were due home in a few days. I said, "Tell him to come see us. I'd like to meet him." ("Slim" knew him, and Buddy and Waylon had met a few years back at KDAV's live show, the Sunday Afternoon Party. Buddy was one of the stars and Waylon "just a kid from Littlefield" who was occasionally allowed to sing a song.)

A few days later, about 8:00 a.m., a tall, slim, bespectacled young man came into the KLLL control room where I was doing the morning show, offered his right hand, and said "I'm Buddy Holly. Got home last night. Dad says you think Waylon has possibilities." Right to the point! As I was to find, that was Buddy's way. Maybe he somehow knew he didn't have time to fool around......(to be continued)-Sky Corbin

A while back I was able to contact Sky Corbin, he and his family owned and operated KLLL back in the day. Talking with Sky was a treat, but unfortunately, as his wife explained to me, things weren't as clear anymore. So here is part one of Sky's recollection of his time with Waylon Jennings and KLLL for your #ThrowBackThursday
-J.R.

Waylon in Lubbock: Part One
By: Sky Corbin

It was the Spring of l957. I was a fresh-out-of-the-Air Force young deejay at my hometown radio station, KLVT, Levelland, Texas. One of my fellow deejays, Terry Belyeu, mentioned one day that he'd heard an apparently very young deejay on KVOW, Littlefield )about 25 miles north of our location, and he thought I'd find him interesting. I tuned in, and heard a shy-sounding, rough-reading, but somehow very appealing voice...and when I heard him singing a home-made jingle promoting the radio station, I was fascinated. Although he was attempting to imitate Hank Snow and singing his jingle to the tune of "I'm Moving On", there was something about the voice I found strangely appealing.

Terry and I drifted up Littlefield way a few days later and visited Waylon at KVOW. The station was in a small frame house with a sheet- iron roof. The only lighting was bare, apparently 40-watt light bulbs The furnishings were past due for the junk yard. Two Mexican gentlemen were practicing in the lobby/studio for their upcoming live music program.They nodded toward the control room when we asked if we could see "Wayland" Jennings. WE introduced ourselves and got a very friendly welcome. Deejays at little stations didn't get all that much attention in those days. The control room made Terry and I feel like we were in the bigtime at OUR place of employment. KVOW was poorly lit, with antiquated, beat-up equipment, and most unforgettable of all, a crack in the corner of the building, about two feet from the operating position that you could have thrown a cat through...well, a kitten, anyway...and Waylon sat there and deejayed, read the news etc. at least 8 hours a day with the west Texas heat..and sand blowing in. I complimented his jingles, told him my brother Ray "Slim" Corbin (later a Monument and Columbia recording artist, but at that time a deejay at KHOB, Hobbs, N. Mex.) and I played guitar and sang and we should all get together. Sounded great to him, he said. We talked for quite a while about our likes and dislikes in music and I asked if he'd be interested in moving if an opportunity came along. He indicated that he would. Said he and his wife and two kids were starving on his $50 a week salary.

He accepted our invitation to visit us at KLVT, and was amazed at how much better the facility was, in every way. We contined our friendship with occasional visits. I had plans. When, I got an offer from KTFY, Brownfield, with a considerable pay increase and a lighter workload, I recommended Waylon for my job at KLVT. He accepted. I thought he'd be getting my fabulous KLVT salary, a whopping $75 a week, and learned much later he made the move for very little more than he was making at Littlefield. (You need to keep in mind that this was '57 and minimum wage was a dollar an hour to the best of my recollection) He, Ray and I never did all get together that year, Didn't matter all that much. My brother
Ray and I, with our just-retired-farmer Dad's financial backing, were looking for a radio station to buy, and we finally settled for KLLL, Lubbock, Texas. When I approached Waylon about joining us as our first-hired employee, "Sky, I don't think I'm good enough for a market as big as Lubbock!" protested the future world-renowned superstar. I responded with, "I may not be either, but we'll learn together...or starve!" That, in retrospect, now seems almost prophetic! The next couple of years were unforgettable. Country boys taking on the big town men in a battle royal for survival, then supremacy. STAY TUNED FOR THE NEXT
THRILLING EPISODE, "WAYLON AT K TRIPLE L...studios atop the Great Plains Building in downtown Lubbock, Texas!"
-Sky Corbin

This is Zach Anner, he's a stand-up comedian from Austin, Tx, and quite frankly, he's hilarious. Apparently he even had/has his own show on the Oprah Network. I don't know if he still does because I don't research enough when I type these out. I just think you should definitely see these. This guy is amazing.

This is his latest video on milestones, "..because we will NEVER convert to the metric system!"

Unless drought conditions diminish in the Lubbock area between now and June, the City will enter into Stage 2 of its Drought Contingency Plan beginning June 1, 2014.

Mandatory irrigation restrictions associated with Stage 2 include:

• Landscape irrigation allowed only once per week

• The irrigation schedule will be based on the last digit of the street address

• No irrigation can occur between 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.

• Irrigation must be limited to 1 ½ inches of water per week

• Irrigation must be without significant runoff

• New plant material may be irrigated more frequently for a limited time if a variance request is applied for and approved by the City (go to water.mylubbock.us and view variance link for more information)

• Hand watering (holding the water hose in your hand) is allowed at any time on any day

• No use of water in fountains or ponds for aesthetic purposes except to support aquatic life

The City implemented Stage 1 of its drought contingency plan in 2006 due to low water levels in Lake Meredith. By 2011, the entire state of Texas entered into another drought cycle which has lasted several years. National weather forecasts predict that the drought could continue through this summer. Therefore, as a precautionary measure, the City will move to Stage 2 of its drought contingency plan if weather conditions do not change in the next couple of months.

Lubbock is fortunate to have a diversified water supply. Approximately 80% of our water supply consists of groundwater from the City-owned Bailey County Well Field and the Canadian River Municipal Water Authority's well field in Roberts County. The other 20% of our water supply consists of surface water from Lake Alan Henry. This lake is at 63% of its total capacity. While our surface water and groundwater supplies are reliable sources of water given our current usage, delivery capacity could be a problem during the summer months if demand increases dramatically.

The City of Lubbock asks that all residents and businesses be considerate and efficient with their water usage in an effort to conserve water and reduce overall demand so we can preserve our water supplies for many decades to come.

Finally, you have something to show your out of state relatives, who ask if why you don't visit your distant cousin in Corpus Christi more often..."I mean, how far away is it really?" Well facts are fact, that annoying aunt may actually be closer to your cousin than you are.

Texas is 790 miles long. The red on this map represents the area that is within 790 miles of Texas. That is to say, if you are within this red zone, you are closer to somewhere in Texas than other parts of Texas are…

Looking for a few more,

Beaumont is closer to Tampa than El Paso.

Brownsville is closer to Mexico City than DFW.

Texarkana is closer to Atlanta than El Paso.

Corpus is closer to Cuba than Denver.

Austin is closer to New Orleans than El Paso

Downtown Fort Worth to downtown Dallas is longer than the Gaza Strip is long, longer than the english channel.

The product repurposes shipping containers to create an fantastic tailgating experience that features a full bar ready for a keg, two flatscreen TVs, a grill, a leather sofa and even 8-foot by 20-foot “observation deck.”Check out the story here and the company website here!

Some people think Hashtags are getting out of hand. They started with twitter, and have come to encapsulate everything we do on social media.
(I’m pretty excited I used encapsulate correctly in a sentence. My English teachers would be proud right now. #HighFiveMyself )
The only trouble is that there are so many different hashtags for different things. It’s a lot like the emojis that people for some reason send me when they text me. I don’t know what kind of time you think you are saving, but on this end it involves me having to google whatever symbol you just sent me.

So I thought isn’t it high time we have a calendar for some of these hashtags?
I plan on updating this with the more information I get, so feel free to tell me I’m wrong or to make additions to this list on twitter ( www.twitter.com/JRKLLL ) or email me at jr@klll.com .

Sunday:#SelfieSunday You should be prepared for more cat pictures

#SelfieSunday-Selfie Sunday. It’s actually a misnomer. Selfies are added at any point during the week. But we are all bored at some point on a Sunday and this is a good way to join the club.

Monday:#MCM for my friend Marshall Vines

#MCM-It’s Man-Crush Monday. It’s used primarily for women to post pictures of their boyfriends or husbands, in case you forgot that they have one.

Tuesday:#TransformationTuesday You See I used to be skinny. Now I'm not.

#TransformationTuesday-It’s a way of bring the TV show I love the 80’s/90’s to Instagram and twitter. It’s also a way to feel pretty creepy when I can’t figure out if I should like a ten year old picture of a now 26 year old woman. I don’t know what that says about me, but it can’t be good.

Wednesday:#WCW This entire post may have come from me wanting to post this pic.

#WCW- Women-Crush Wednesday. It’s a week by week update about which girls are still friends with the poster that Wednesday. You know what? I’m starting to think I don’t understand women at all.

Thursday:#TBT You see this pic that has been on facebook? Well LOOK AGAIN!

#TBT-Throwback Thursday- These hand picked pictures, usually brought over from myspace now getting recycled, just make sure the lighting was good. The outfit not too embarassing. Then let me just add this filter…no, not that one. There, That one. Now add the following sentence. “OMG, WE NEED TO HANG OUT SOON”

Friday:#FBF My buddy Brendan tagged me in his #TBT. This is what obligation looks like.

#FBF-Flashback Friday. It’s the same as #TBT but they went out Wednesday and Thursday and forgot about it. Then they were tagged in someone else’s #TBT pic and feel guilty now.

Saturday:#Caturday I kept it to two cat pictures this post. Pretty proud of myself actually.

#Caturday- It stands for Cat Saturday. I have nothing snarky to say about this one. I use it at least once each Saturday.

Like many people, I will talk to my un-named roommate. I call her a roommate, because after several conversations, she has made it clear to me that I live “..WITH HER” not the other way around. In these conversations, sometimes we get to arguing. Or I get to arguing. I’m not sure how this works now exactly.

Tell me she doesn't look like a jerk.

In an effort to show you how these conversations go, I’ve given her a phone. What follows is a text message conversation between me and my …roommate.

Age is just a number. No, don’t worry, this isn’t going to be an entry that you need to save as evidence for a future trial where I am the guest of honor. I’m talking about it being 2014! 2014! I don’t know if I can say 2014! Without an exclamation mark to give it the emphasis I feel it deserves. I mark my life in music. So what was happening when I was 14, a ridiculous TWENTY YEARS AGO.

I thnk I was about 14 in this picture.
Oh yeah, the ladies LOVED me. ::eyeroll::

In 1994, Kurt Cobain died. Later that day I miraculously got a girlfriend. I’m hoping the two are unrelated. Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Preseley made the whole planet cringe and got married. I was in eighth grade and becoming a high school freshman in 1994. Jason Aldean remembers Joe Diffie, I just recall trying to fit in. Not the easiest task for a guy who now makes his living being a dork. I also remember Grunge music finally starting to die out. And my ability to own a shirt that wasn’t flannel was just beginning. In a time where 14.4 kbps modems were the fastest things that could get you on the internet. Of course, I also embarrassingly sang along to Faith Hill’s ‘Wild One’ and I can still sing every word of Tim McGraw’s ‘Don’t Take the Girl’. BTW, 1994, the very important year because that was the year I stole my first Kiss. Sappy I know.

This may have just been an excuse to post this picture.

Let’s move on.

If twenty years ago doesn’t have the impact on you that I think it should, that’s ok. Let’s fast forward to 2004. TEN YEARS AGO. This year is significant for me, because I first got into radio in 2004. The year of Gary Allan, and Trace Adkins. Some girls to this day refer to themselves as ‘Whiskey Girls’ from Toby Keith’s song. I was working at a bar in Chico, California called the Crazy Horse Saloon as I spent all of my other spare time annoying my boss at the radio station begging for more stuff to do.

Music marks time for me. I remember listening to the radio and certain songs still take me to weird places. Don’t ask about Christina Aguilara’s ‘Geinie in a Bottle’ that’s where it starts getting a little weird.

I talk about that several times with different guests on the borderline podcast at www.klll.com/borderline take a listen on there to several great guests, and me asking them stupid questions. So mark time with us, welcome to 2014. Just think, in ten years, you might just be saying, “OMG, 2014 was TEN YEARS AGO!” I recommend turning it on 96.3 and rolling around town with the windows down. That’s how I got caught singing along to ‘Genie in the Bottle’. No teenage boy should ever be caught singing the words, “you gotta rub me the right way.”